Research reports

 

In recent months, the various governments, in Belgium and elsewhere, have had to take action to tackle the health crisis caused by Covid-19. These measures have had an impact on the way municipalities and cities have had to adapt. At the Smart City Institute, in this complex period, the combination of the concepts of "sustainable and smart territories" and "crisis" led us to conduct empirical research in Wallonia in order to better understand the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the sustainable and smart transition of our territories ("Smart Cities/Territories"). Many questions arise and in particular, will this crisis slow down or, on the contrary, accelerate this transition? This report is an opportunity to evoke some initial avenues of response. Although we are not yet able to determine the full long-term effects of this situation, this research allows us to draw up an initial assessment of the situation. Our results indicate that during this complex period, Walloon municipalities saw this crisis as an opportunity to generate positive change, particularly through digital transition. The new context induced by the health crisis has created, in certain aspects, a favourable ground for the development of intelligent territories throughout Wallonia. New digital solutions that were not previously envisaged are now an integral part of the new way of working in local public administrations. While it is still too early to say that it has indeed accelerated the sustainable and smart transition of the Walloon territory, the crisis has nevertheless opened up new perspectives for our municipalities.